MUCH has already been written about Valentine Lamb, the former editor of this publication, including an obituary in The Daily Telegraph. He was one of the most interesting people in the thoroughbred industry.

Val was not afraid to rock the boat and as an occasional passenger in some of those boats, I enjoyed his interventions as much as I feared them. Back in the late 1990s my responsibilities at Goffs included marketing and PR, which made me the initial point of contact with The Irish Field.

He had an instantly recognisable voice, which not even his most ardent admirer would recommend for reading the radio news and I can hear it now: “Nick it’s Val. Is it true that...?” Whatever skeleton he had uncovered was indeed invariably true.

Like all great raconteurs, there were stories at his expense and my favourite went something like this.

As editor of The Irish Field he was invited to dine at the Jockey Club Rooms in Newmarket.

The butler or head waiter in charge of proceedings arrived with the wine. He leant down to the Senior Steward (whom I think may have been Lord Howard de Walden) and said something along the lines of, “my lord, we have a delicious Chablis which I am told has a wonderful green apple flavour along with a hint of earthiness. However, you might prefer to move straight on to the claret, which is among the finest in our cellar.

“It is a superb vintage with an elegant palate, a finesse to the tannins and silky texture to the fruit that should be excellent with the venison.’’

LANDOWNERS

This was repeated quietly to each of the various peers and landowners around the table until he reached the chair occupied by Valentine Lamb. Instead of offering a similar description of the wines on offer, and obviously considering an Irish journalist to be way out of his depth, he merely leant forward and grunted at Val, “red or white?”

Actually Valentine had a distinguished pedigree that would have matched any of his fellow diners on that occasion.

His death came on the 100th anniversary of the start of the Gallipoli campaign where over 100,000 men were killed in World War 1.

These included his grandfather, the Earl of Longford. Having been fatally wounded, the Earl’s final words were reputedly: “Don’t bother ducking, the men don’t like it and it doesn’t do any good.’’ Valentine reflected a similar way of thinking and he will be much missed.